A Princess' Adventures
by puppylover-MCP
Summary: A series of one-shots about Anna and Elsa, mostly focusing on the years before and during the isolation from Anna's perspective. I just wanted to explore a bit on what might have happened, and I have no idea when it'll end. Yes, it will stay true to the Frozen canon as much as possible, because this is not an AU, but an exploration of the isolation years, as I already said. Enjoy!
1. The Perfect Day

I happily skipped through the hallways of my home, waving to everyone as I passed. They greeted me back warmly, and I grinned at their friendliness. Coming to a stop in front of a door, I stopped and knocked, knowing it would be rude to barge in, especially since I knew the person inside was busy. I listened eagerly for a response.

"Who is it?" a voice called from inside.

I grinned wider. "It's me!" I replied, knowing the person would know right away who I was.

"Go away," the voice called back with a sigh, "I can't have you in here right now."

"Why?" I asked, a little hurt at the response.

I heard another sigh from inside after a moment of silence. "Okay, fine. Come in, but you have to be quiet."

"Yay!" I exclaimed, happy at the words. _Wait, why was I knocking?_ I asked myself. _It is my room after all._ I shook my head at my stupidity. My mama was always reminding me to think before I acted, but I usually forgot that advice. In the case of the knocking, however, I probably did it because I knew what would happen if I interrupted the person inside. The last time I barged in without asking, I had gotten in trouble, and the person had been a little upset with me, although they quickly forgave the incident. I raced over and flopped on my bed.

"What do you want, Anna?" I glanced over to see my sister sitting at her desk, deeply involved in her work.

"I wanna play with you, Elsa!" I responded.

My sister gave a small giggle. "How did I know you were gonna say that?"

"I don't know," I replied teasingly. I gave a dramatic gasp. "Maybe you're a mind reader!"

"I don't think so," Elsa answered with a laugh, finally putting down her pen and turning to face me. "I think you just say that so many times that I'm thinking of what you're gonna say before you even say it." She then turned back to her desk, picked up her pen again, and started scribbling furiously on her paper.

"Why didn't you want me in here?" I asked.

"You _know_ the answer to that," Elsa replied with another laugh as her pen continued moving. "You can be a bit loud and noisy, and I can't have you distracting me while I'm trying to work."

"Do you wanna go outside?" I stared at my sister and gave her my best puppy-dog eyes. "It's really pretty today." I groaned after a minute of silence, save the scribbling of the pen, of course. "Hey, why aren't you turning around?"

"Because I know you're making that pleading face again, and if I see it, I'll melt and have to go play with you," Elsa replied.

I huffed in annoyance at my secret weapon being useless. "What's wrong with that?"

"Because I'm trying to work."

"Aw!" I stuck out my lower lip and pouted. "What _are_ you doing, anyway?"

Elsa turned and held up her paper, which I noticed was full of bunches of numbers. "Math homework," my sister replied simply before turning her attention back to her work. "And _that_ is why I can't play right now."

"Come on, _please_?" I begged. "Papa's working on paperwork, Mama's busy, too, although she wouldn't tell me what she was doing, and nobody will play with me!" I smiled mischievously as I thought of an idea. "I'll give you my desert tonight if you come play." I walked over to the desk and stood on my toes, sticking my face under my sister's and giving her a pleading look.

Elsa shook her head and pushed my face away. "Sorry, but I can't. I've got a ton of work to do 'cause you keep managing to pull me away." She smiled and winked at me. "Which, to be honest, is what I wish you could do right now, 'cause this is super boring, although I kind of like math. But I really need to concentrate, so maybe later."

I crossed my arms and huffed again. "Hey, what're those for?" I asked, pointing to the gloves covering my sister's hands.

Elsa glanced down and a confused look came over her face. "I don't know." She then proceeded to slap her forehead, probably remembering the reason. "Oh, that's right! These are from you convincing me to play dress up ten minutes ago. It was insisted that I start my work 'right this instant', and so I did," she responded, lowering her voice to mimic her tutor. I giggled at her impression. "Guess I forgot to change." It was then I noticed the toy tiara and overly-frilly clothes Elsa was wearing. With a grin, she slid the pink gloves, which extended past her elbows and were slightly too big, off her hands before putting them over my ears. Then she unwrapped the fuzzy, purple scarf from her neck and twisted in into a circle, placing it on my head. Finally, she whipped off her toy tiara and set in in the middle of the circle. I watched my sister as she stood up, gave a curtsy, and then cleared her throat before continuing in a deep voice. "I hereby crown thee Queen Hand-Ears, ruler of the kingdom of Scarves and Gloves!" We both instantly burst into laughter, which made all the accessories fall off of me since my head was bobbing too much.

"Why thank you, Madam Lover-of-Math! I will wear this crown with pride, well, if it doesn't fall off again, that is," I said, picking up the tiara off the floor and placing it back on my head, trying to use a fancy-sounding voice.

"You're welcome, Your Majesty," Elsa replied with another curtsy. "Now will you please excuse me? I really have some very important work to do, and if I don't finish it, I will be in grave trouble with Duke Stuffy of Do-your-work-right-now-land. We can't have that happening, now can we?" Elsa winked at me again before sitting down and working on her math paper some more.

I smiled. I had my met my older sister's tutor, and I was very glad that I wasn't studying under him. He had a long, sharp nose that reassembled a bird's beak, and he always walked around as if his body were made of stone. "Yes, that would be _very_ bad!" I responded in a dramatic voice, leaning back slightly and laying my arm over my forehead. I watched Elsa scribble out her math problems for a few more minutes before getting bored. "_Please_ play with me?" I pleaded.

Elsa sadly shook her head. "No, I can't. I really do wish I could, but Papa told me not to leave this room until I'm done. Although, I think I'd better go work someplace else, 'cause if I stay around you for too much longer, I'll end up having to submit, and then I'll get in big trouble."

I sighed, knowing she was right. I really wanted to play, but I also didn't want to get my sister in trouble. "Okay, fine, I'll leave you alone," I said sadly, hanging my head as I walked toward the door. "Bye, I guess."

"Wait!" Elsa called. I turned to see her looking at me with a sad expression. "Tell you what. Let me finish this, and I'll play with you as much as I can later. Maybe we can even do _that thing_ that you like so much," she added, a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

I gasped, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "Really? You mean-?"

"Yup!" my sister answered.

"Well, then hurry up and finish!" I exclaimed over my shoulder as I raced toward the door. "I'll be waiting!" I heard Elsa laughing as I ran down the hall. I stopped a second to think. I knew my sister would play with me for sure, but I needed to do something to secure that. Surely if I did something really nice, my sister would have to avoid turning me down. I rushed back to the bedroom and opened the door, peeking my head inside. "Are you thirsty?" I asked sweetly. "It's just a little bit hot today, can I get you something icy cold to drink?"

Elsa smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. I've got some already." She pointed to the corner of her desk where a glass half-filled with lemonade and ice cubes sat. She shot me a look. "Are you trying to butter me up or something?"

I grinned nervously and bounced on my heels. "Yes, er, no. Uh, maybe?" I stammered out with a sheepish grin.

"I'll take that as a yes," Elsa said with a smile. "I promise I'll play with you later. Now please leave me alone for now so I can finish."

I nodded and left the room again. I raced outside into the warm June afternoon, ran to the garden, and spun around a couple of times, enjoying the perfect day. I spotted a group of ducklings with their mother, and ran over to see if they'd let me play with them. But, as usual, my clumsy, four-year-old feet just had to trip over something on the ground, and I fell, scaring away the ducks. "Aw, man!" I stood up and brushed off my skirt before crossing my arms with a huff. _Well, playing with the duckies is out,_ I thought. Now what else can I do? I then noticed the small waterfall and stream.

Grinning, I rushed over and thrust my hands under the falling water droplets. Struck with an idea, I gathered some fallen leaves and several small pebbles. I placed five of the leaves into the stream, and held the short line of make-shift boats in place with my arm. Gently, I lined up some of my pebbles in circles on each leaf. As carefully as I could, I reached forward to the boat in the center of my small fleet and placed my largest pebble in the center of the circle of 'soldiers'. "The royal fleet of Her Royal Highness, Princess Lily, is ready to depart!" I announced to no one in particular. Grinning, I moved my arm to release the boats, grabbed a nearby stick, jumped up, and raced after the line of leaves. I managed to get ahead of the rapidly-moving fleet and thrust my stick into the water, swishing it around to create some small waves. "Oh no!" I cried to myself. "There's a big storm! Rescue the princess!" I rushed ahead of the leaves again, kneeled on the ground, and stopped my pretend boats with my arm. With my hand, I splashed some water onto every leaf except for the middle one before swiping off their circle of rocks. I then picked those four leaves up, set them down in the water on the other side of my arm, and let them continue downstream. Then I splashed some more water onto the remaining ship, also getting rid of the circle of pebbles. "All is lost! Who will save the princess now?" I asked, referring to the one pebble left in the middle of the leaf. I quickly pulled another pebble out of my pocket. "Do not worry, fair maiden!" I called in a deep voice. "I, Prince Aron, will save you!"

I picked up the leaf and pebble out of the river and set it on the ground while I slipped off my shoes and socks. Then I stepped into the water and placed my makeshift boat with the 'princess' back onto the stream, but I made sure to block its path with my legs. Picking up my stick, I held the other pebble against the bottom of it, swinging the stick back and forth with my fingers as I pretended it was a vine hanging near the river in a rainforest, which my pretend fleet had been passing through. On the fourth swing, I scooped up the 'princess' with my fingers, so the 'prince' could swing her to safety. When my stick and pebbles had landed safely on the ground, I stepped out of the water, allowing the final leaf to continue its path. Turning to my two pebbles, I picked them up and held them a few inches apart. "Oh, thank you so much for rescuing me, my dear prince!" I exclaimed, moving my 'princess' up and down as I pretended the words had come out of her mouth. "You're welcome, Princess," I made the 'prince' reply. "It was an honor to save you."

I played by the stream for the next hour or so, coming up with all kinds of different stories until I finally became bored and resorted to lay on the grass, watching the clouds and trying to find shapes in them. _I'm bored,_ I thought after a while when I couldn't find any new designs in the clouds. _I wish Mama or Papa_ _could play with me._ I thought of Elsa, slaving away over her boring school work. _I'm really glad I'm not old enough to start lessons yet._ I sighed out of boredom and closed my eyes.

0o0o0o0o

I awoke to someone or something nudging my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I found myself staring into Elsa's grinning face. "Did you sleep good?" she asked.

"Huh? I was asleep?" I asked back.

Elsa nodded. "Yup! Or at least, I'm pretty sure you were, what with your eyes being closed and your loud snoring."

I folded my arms and glared up at her. "Liar! I don't snore!"

"You should listen to yourself while you're sleeping sometime," my sister replied with a laugh.

"Are you done with your work?" I asked, standing up and brushing myself off.

"Yes, finally."

"Already?"

"Uh, yeah. What do you mean by 'already'? It's supper time, which is why I'm out here in the first place. Mama says to come inside and wash up." Elsa folded her arms and smiled. "Don't tell me you've been sleeping this whole time!"

I shrugged. "Guess I was tired." It had been a little after lunch when I had gone outside, and I was a bit surprised that no one had come looking for me. Then again, everyone had seemed to be extra busy today. _No matter,_ I thought. _This_ _day has been pretty great anyway._ Then, Elsa and I headed inside together to wash up for dinner.

0o0o0o0o

"So, girls, how has your day been?" Papa asked several minutes later after we had started eating.

"It was fun," Elsa replied simply. I stopped myself before I could grimace. If I had to do school work for several hours on end without a break like she had done, I definitely wouldn't be calling my day 'fun'. Then again, my sister loved things like math, geography, and science, but we both knew she'd rather play than work.

"What about you, Sunshine?" my mother asked, turning to me.

I grinned. "It was amazing!" I exclaimed, waving my arms around for emphasis. I then proceeded to tell my family all about my leaf-boat adventures.

0o0o0o0o

Several hours later, I lay in my bed, struggling to fall asleep. Just like she'd promised, Elsa had played with me for the rest of the evening until our parents told us it was bedtime. I groaned and rolled from side to side, trying to find a position that would allow me to fall asleep quickly. _How does she do it?_ I wondered, staring across the room at my sister, who had already fallen asleep a long while ago. I had tried everything; counting sheep, softly singing a lullaby Mama had taught me out loud, repeating the lullaby in my head, covering my face with my pillow, staring at the ceiling, and several other things, yet no matter how I tried, sleep wouldn't come. Quietly, I slipped out from under the covers and softly padded over to my sister's bed. I climbed up and knelt beside her sleeping form, reaching my hands forward to shake her awake. "Wake up!" I begged.

Elsa slowly opened her eyes and turned to me. "Yeah?" she asked groggily. "What is it?"

"What time is it?" The moonlight was shining bright enough that the clock could be seen, but I wasn't old enough to read it yet.

"It's after midnight," Elsa grumbled after a quick glance at the clock, "which means both of us should be sleeping."

"Wanna play with me?" I asked, ignoring the last part of her words.

"I already did," Elsa responded with a sigh. "I'm tired. Can you _please_ go back to sleep?"

I flopped down beside her and crossed my arms. "No! I can't!"

"Why not?"

"'Cause no matter how hard I try, I can't sleep!"

"Did you try counting sheep?"

"Yes!"

"Singing yourself a lullaby?"

"Yes!"

"Staring at the ceiling?"

"Yes!"

"Lying very still and closing your eyes while trying not to think of anything exciting?"

"_Yes_! I've tried everything!"

"Then I guess we have a problem." My sister sat up in her bed, reached over, and gave me a hug. "If I play with you some more, will you promise to go to sleep afterward?"

I nodded and grinned. "Yup! Well, if I can, that is." I hopped off the bed and bounced on my heels, waiting for my Elsa, who was getting out from under the covers.

"So what do you wanna play?" she asked. "Dolls maybe?"

I shook my head. "Nope! I wanna go downstairs!"

"To get a snack?" Elsa smiled teasingly, since we both knew that wasn't what I wanted.

"Nope!"

Elsa sighed, although she was still smiling. "Sis, we already did that today."

"So?" I asked. "You know I can't ever stop wanting to do it. It's awesome!"

Elsa's face lit up so bright at that comment that if she were a lamp, she could give light to an entire house. "Alright then, if you insist."

"Of course I insist!" I exclaimed. "So, do you-?"

"Always!" my sister interrupted, most likely knowing what I was going to say. "Is that even a question?"

I giggled in excitement and grabbed her arm. "Then come on!" Together we raced downstairs. Our first stop was the kitchen, where we grabbed some supplies, along with some snacks. Then we ran into a large room, and I rushed to the center. "Do it! Do it!" I cried.

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked with a grin as she ran over to me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Hurry! I can't wait any longer!" A moment later, I gasped as I nearly slipped and fell.

My sister glanced down with a surprised face. "Hey, where did that ice come from?" She looked so perplexed that it confused me, too.

Then I laughed, realizing she was just messing with me. "Very funny, Elsa. Make it snow! Make it snow!" I took the handful of things she offered me so her hands were free.

Elsa reached her hands forward, and as I watched, sparkling icy magic hovered above it. "You ready?" she asked. I nodded excitedly, dropping my armful so I could bounce around without the added weight. Elsa created a snowball in her hands and tossed it into the air, where it exploded into a ton of softly-falling snowflakes. "So, Anna, what should we do first?" she asked me when she was done transforming the huge ballroom into a winter wonderland.

"Snowman!" I cried.

Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled. "Why did I even ask?"

Several minutes later, a snowman was sitting in front of our my parents' thrones, while I was actually sitting on my papa's seat. Elsa raced behind our snowman and crouched down, using a deep voice and waving the snowman's arms as she spoke. "Queen Anna! It's a great honor to meet you!"

I laughed. "What's his name, Elsa? What's his name?"

Elsa laughed and cleared her throat. "Hi! I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" she announced, lowering her voice as deep as an eight-year-old could.

I jumped up and ran over, throwing my arms around the snowman. "I love you, Olaf!"

"And I love you, Anna!" Elsa made the snowman reply, wrapping its twig arms around me.

I then raced toward the center of the room again, struck by an idea. "Snowball fight!" I called as I began trying to stack snow into a fort.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Elsa asked with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous look.

"Yup!" I nodded and continued building my snow fort. Two seconds later, a snowball slammed into my cheek.

I glanced over to see my older sister standing with a smirk on her face, bouncing another snowball up and down in her hand. She twirled her other hand and sent a stream of magic toward my fort, building it high enough instantly. Then she did the same thing several feet away for herself. "Are you ready to start?" she asked.

I nodded excitedly, but then I stopped when I remembered something. "Wait!" I exclaimed, and Elsa paused mid-snowball-throw. "I need Olaf on my team!"

Elsa gasped in pretend horror. "You're right! We can't just leave him out!" With a grin, she sent a swirl of magic toward Olaf, which picked him up about a foot off the floor, and then set the snowman down a second later beside me.

"Thanks, Elsa!" I stared at the snowman in front of me. "I kind of wish he was alive," I commented. "Don't suppose your magic can do that, can it?"

Elsa shook her head. "I don't think so. Well, at least, not yet anyway. My powers get stronger the older I am, so it's possible, but I doubt it." Elsa had told me several times that her powers had already been getting stronger since she was really little, but she still couldn't do certain things. For instance, a second ago when she moved Olaf for me, I had seen her straining to keep him in the air. "After all," my sister continued, "snow is snow and it can't come to life. Sorry, but you'll just have to pretend-oof!"

While she had been talking, I had loaded Olaf's arm with a snowball, pulled it back, and fired, landing a hit on my sister's face. "That's okay," I replied with a grin. "I'll still beat you anyway."

Elsa raised her eyebrow again. "Oh really?" A second later, a snowball made contact with my shoulder. With grins and giggles from the both of us, the fight began.

0o0o0o0o

A while later, Elsa and I were both covered from head to toe in snow. "Can we skate?" I asked. I gasped when I felt myself grow a few inches taller. I glanced down to find icy skates attached to my boots. I grinned and spun around, which led to me spinning out of control and landing on my backside. I groaned and crossed my arms. "Elsa!" I whined. "You know I can't skate like that!"

Elsa smiled and shook her head. "I think you can, with practice, but never mind. I'll stick with the other way for now."

Using her magic, Elsa moved Olaf to the middle of the ice, and I rushed to stand in front of him, holding on to his arms. With a grin, Elsa positioned herself behind Olaf and then proceeded to propel the three of us across the ice with her magic. "Whee!" I cried with glee.

When we got tired of skating, we decided to draw some pictures. Elsa made both of us a pencil-shaped icicle, and we found a patch of snow to draw in. When I finished, I happily showed my big sister the pictures I had made. One was of Olaf, and the other was two girls holding hands; Elsa and I. Apparently, Elsa had had the same idea for her drawings, and they were pretty similar to mine, except for being drawn better since she was older than me. "I know what we should do next," Elsa announced as she straightened up and brushed off her hands. She reached forward and created a small mound of snow.

I grinned, knowing exactly what that meant. Laughing, I ran over and climbed onto the pile. "I'm ready!" I called.

"Alright," Elsa replied with a smile. "Hang on!" I jumped, and she instantly caught me with a pile of snow. This went on for several minutes, with me having a lot of fun and Elsa shouting out encouragements. "Anna, wait!" Elsa called out after a minute.

"What?" I replied, still jumping.

"Can you please stop a second so I can talk to you?"

"Fine." I came to a halt when I landed on the next snow pile, which was technically a snow _mountain _from how high it had gotten. "What's wrong?"

Elsa shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just wondering if we can do something else."

"Why? This is fun!"

"You're going a bit too fast, and you're making me dizzy. Can we come back to this in a few minutes?"

I glanced around at the mounds of snow, which were positioned in a spiral pattern around Elsa. No wonder she was getting dizzy. "Okay, sounds good to me." With a shrug, I jumped off the pillar, knowing Elsa would catch me.

"Anna!" Elsa cried right before I landed in a pile of snow. I sat up and shook the snow off of me, grinning from ear to ear. I glanced over at Elsa to find a terrified yet relieved look on her face. "Anna, next time, warn me before you do that!"

"Why?" I asked. "You caught me. You always do."

Elsa sighed and rested her forehead on her palm. "If I hadn't been looking for even a second, you would have landed on the ice and knocked yourself unconscious, and that's only if you're lucky. Anyway, why don't we slide?"

I nodded. "Sure!" I waited for her to create one of her slides, and then I scrambled to the top.

"Ready?" Elsa asked when she and I had seated ourselves at the top of the slide.

"Always," I replied. "Let's go!"

0o0o0o0o

I startled awake when I felt myself being lowered. Opening my eyes, I found Elsa smiling down at me as she tucked me into bed. "Goodnight, Anna," she whispered, reaching forward to give me a hug.

"'Night, Elsa," I replied as I returned the hug. When my sister had walked over to her own bed and crawled in, I turned over on my side and snuggled against my blanket, reaching for my doll and holding it close. Elsa and I had been playing so much that I was exhausted. I had flopped down on the ground and apparently fallen asleep, which explained why I was back in my room. I smiled as I glanced over at Elsa, who was already asleep. Grinning, I flopped back onto my pillow and closed my eyes. _What a perfect night to end a perfect day,_ I thought, right before sleep claimed me.


	2. What's Going On?

"I love you," I heard a sad voice say, startling me awake. I groaned, rolled over, and kept my eyes shut tight. I was really tired, my head was throbbing and cold at the same time, and I just wanted to go back to sleep. I heard a gasp at my movements, and then the sound of hurrying footsteps. Opening my eyes, I saw Elsa disappearing out of the bedroom. _Well that was weird,_ I thought as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Then they both popped open when I made the discovering that all of my big sister's things were gone, including her bed. I rolled over and started to get up, but a wave of dizziness passed through my head, so I just resorted to sitting on the edge of my bed. I tried to remember what happened, since I knew _something_ did. The last thing I remembered was playing with Elsa, but I couldn't recall what it was, just that it was a lot of fun. My brain felt all confused, like I was supposed to remember something important that just wasn't there. I felt like I had forgotten something, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

The dizzy feeling passed, and I jumped up and ran out of the room, going the same direction Elsa had. As I reached the end of the hallway and started to turn the corner, I finally saw Elsa. But what she was doing made me stop in my tracks. She was opening the door to a different room. For a second, she turned back and gave me a pained look before she shut the door. I stood still for a moment, wondering what in the world I had done wrong. I slowly walked up to the new door and knocked. "Elsa, are you in there?" I asked. "Are we playing hide-and-seek or something? 'Cause if we are, then I found you. You're it!" All that answered me was silence. A second later I heard a muffled scream. "Elsa?" I asked again. "Are you okay?"

"Go away," Elsa replied after a minute.

"Why?"

"Just please do it."

I sighed and turned away. Then I had an idea. If Elsa wouldn't talk to me, then I'd ask Mama and Papa. Determined to find answers, I hurried to seek out my parents. In one of the rooms I searched in, I happened to glance at a mirror. I gasped when I noticed my hair. A long, white streak ran through my right pigtail. _What's this?_ I wondered. I don't remember having white in my hair. I tried to think of anything that could have been the cause. It was then that I remembered my dream. A troll had crept into my room while I was sleeping, or at least, it thought I was, and kissed my head. I gasped in delight. _So that's where that came from! _

When I finally found my parents in Papa's office, I nearly knocked Mama over out of excitement. "Mama!" I cried. "Mama, guess what?"

"What is it, Sunshine?"

I proudly pointed to the streak in my hair. "Look at this!" I noticed a look passing between my parents, but I ignored it. "The trolls came last night!"

"Th-they, d-did?" Papa stammered out. "Y-you remember?" I heard him muttering something under his breath.

"Yeah!" I replied. "They came while I was sleeping and kissed my head, and look! They left this as a present!"

"Uh, that's very nice, Sunshine," Mama said. She looked rather perplexed at my reaction.

"Anna, you've had that from the day you were born," Papa told me.

I stared at him in confusion for a minute. "I have?"

Mama nodded. "Yes, Anna. You must have just now noticed it. You know as well as we do that trolls and other magical creatures don't exist."

"They do too exist!" I argued.

"Only in your dreams, Sunshine," Papa replied, turning to his pile of paperwork on his desk.

I crossed my arms and thought this information over. I tried to remember having that white streak before, but my memories seemed a bit jumbled at the moment. I had probably just forgotten about the white like Mama said. Most of my memories included having fun with Elsa right then, so…Elsa! I had nearly forgotten the reason I was in here in the first place. "Mama, why is Elsa playing hide-and-seek?" I asked. "At least, I think she's playing that since she went and hid in that room. But she wouldn't come out when I found her! And it sounded like she was screaming into something and she didn't tell me if she was okay or not. Also, why is her stuff not in our room?"

Mama glanced at Papa before she answered, kneeling down on the floor so she could be at my eye level. "Sweetie, Elsa has her own room now. She's not playing with you."

"But why?" I asked, crestfallen.

"Elsa's a big girl, and she needs her space," Mama explained with a sigh.

"Did I do something wrong? Does she not want to play with me anymore?"

Mama shook her head and caressed my cheek with her hand. "No, Anna, no one did anything wrong. Elsa still loves you very much," she added, reading my mind. "Sometimes we just need a little change."

"But I don't like change!" I exclaimed, feeling my eyes welling up.

"Change can occasionally be good for us if we give it time," Mama replied with a halfhearted smile. "Please be a big girl for us and try to accept it."

I slowly nodded, realizing that just because Elsa had moved to a different room didn't mean we couldn't play anymore. "Okay," I responded.

"Good girl," Papa praised. "Now run along and go play. Why don't you go down to the kitchen and ask Miss Olina for some chocolate? Tell her I said you could have some, along with some ice cream." He winked at me.

I gasped in delight, my past sorrows forgotten. "Really?" Papa nodded. I laughed and raced out of the study, yelling our servant's name all the way down to the kitchen.

0o0o0o0o

Later on, during supper, I again told my family about my day. To my disappointment, Elsa sat beside Mama instead of me, but I didn't let it ruin my mood. "-And then Miss Gerda read me this story about a princess who slept for a long, long time until a prince came and woke her up, and then they both lived happily every after!"

Papa smiled. "Well, Sunshine, it sounds like you had quite the day!"

"Yeah, it was awesome! Well, except for…" I trailed off, glancing at Elsa as I remembered what had happened earlier. "Hey, Elsa, why were you playing hide-and-seek today?"

Elsa froze for a moment, and then swallowed her food before answering. "Uh, wh-what?"

"Earlier when I chased you to that room," I explained. "You hid inside and didn't come out when I told you I had found you. Mama and Papa said you moved to a new bedroom, but I don't believe that. What were you _really_ doing, and where did you hide your furniture? This sounds just like one of the jokes you'd play on me."

"Sorry, Anna," Elsa replied, "but they're right. I have a new bedroom now, and I wasn't playing hide-and-seek."

"Oh," I said, disappointed at that. "Elsa, do you wanna build a snowman after supper?" I asked innocently. Elsa nearly choked on her food. "Are you okay?" I asked. My sister's face was a mixture of amusement, horror, sorrow, and terror. Mama and Papa were staring at me with strange looks.

"Why in the world would you want to do that?" Elsa asked calmly, although I could tell by her eyes that she was conflicted about something.

"Because I…" I trailed off, confused by everyone's reactions about me asking to build a snowman. Then my five-year-old brain remembered. _I'm so stupid sometimes_, I thought. "Whups, silly me," I told everyone. "I forgot there's no snow outside. I just really feel like we should build a snowman right now, though I'm not sure why." I noticed Elsa and my parents looking at each other.

"May I please be excused?" Elsa asked after a minute. I noticed she had hurried to finish her food after the snowman issue. I also noticed that her eyes were wet as if she were holding back tears. Mama nodded, and Elsa got up and ran out of the room. I had heard her sniffling when she stood up, so I started to follow her to see if she was alright.

"Anna, no. Stay there," Mama commanded, holding up a hand.

I obediently sat down. "What'd I say, Mama?"

Papa cut in before Mama could say anything. "Anna, Elsa can't play with you anymore."

"But why?" I asked. "What's wrong? What'd I do?"

Mama shook her head. "You didn't do anything, Sunshine. Elsa's just going through something that we can't explain now. We just need you to be patient, trust us, and give your sister some space."

I hung my head. "Okay, Mama and Papa."

0o0o0o0o

Later that night, as I got ready for bed in my lonely room, I couldn't help but think that there was more than met the eye to this new change. Whatever it was, I couldn't even begin to try to figure it out. All I could do was wonder, _What's going on? _


	3. Back to the Present

"Okay…" Kristoff said with a raised eyebrow. "That was both depressing and slightly funny at the same time. Did Elsa really almost choke on her food just because you asked to build a snowman?" Kristoff, Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and I were all gathered in the library for our first family game night in forever. After the whole mess with the Nattmara, the Blight, and Elsa's greatest fears around a month ago, I had convinced my sister to let me start the family night gatherings again. Tonight we were supposed to be playing charades, but Elsa and I, though it was mostly me, had gotten distracted by telling Kristoff stories from our childhood.

Elsa nodded in response to Kristoff. "Yes, I did. It was terrifying and heartbreaking to hear her say those words after what had happened. Yet at the same time, it was kind of funny and relieving to hear her say those familiar words since she always did." She covered her mouth and gave a small giggle. "Now that I think about it, my reaction _was_ kind of amusing."

I laughed. "Yeah, I thought you were never going to stop coughing! I'm sorry I made you do it in the first place, though."

"It's fine," Elsa replied, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and pulling close for a hug. "That was a long time ago. What's that thing I always say?"

"The past is in the past!" Olaf supplied with a grin. "Now you just need a crown to throw!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused.

"Huh?" Kristoff added.

Elsa raised one of her eyebrows and stared at Olaf. "Were you spying on me on the North Mountain?"

The cheery snowman shrugged, a mysterious look on his face. "I don't know. Was I?" The rest of us rolled our eyes in amusement.

"By the way," Kristoff spoke up. "In your first story, you said that everyone was busy, but you never explained what they were doing. Did you ever find out?"

I nodded. "They were planning my fifth birthday party and didn't want me snooping. And before you ask, I know about playing with Elsa's magic later that night because she told me the rest of the story."

"Ah, okay, got it."

"I must admit, you really terrified me when you jumped off that snow pillar," Elsa said, staring off into the distance. "I thought you were going to bust your head open or something. You almost got hurt very bad."

I frowned. "The worst part is that it actually happened. I did get hurt from jumping on snow pillars."

"Yes, but it was slightly different," Elsa responded with a wince. "The thought had never occurred to me that I would hit you myself until I actually had."

Grinning, I leaned over quickly and slammed my hand on my sister's shoulder. Elsa jerked from the unexpected and forceful impact, but soon recovered and wrapped one of her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight. "See?" I pointed out. "You always catch me." Elsa only smiled and shook her head. I then sputtered a second later when her pillow made contact with my face. "Hey!" I protested, sending a glare at my big sister's smirking face.

"Did you build anymore snowman at all during those years?" Kristoff asked, interrupting my search for a pillow to retaliate Elsa's blow.

"Yes, sort of," I replied as I turned to the ice harvester, "and I'll get to that in a minute. But first there's another story I have to tell. This next one is several months later, in late November."


	4. Gloves

"Thank you, Miss Olina!" I cried as I skipped out of the castle kitchen, a chunk of sweet, milk chocolate in my fist.

"You're welcome, Princess," Miss Olina replied.

I continued skipping happily down the hallways, eating my chocolate bit by bit. I waved to the servants as I passed them, or what was left of them, anyway, as many had gone away for some reason, and smiled at their cheery responses. I eventually found myself in the hallway where Elsa's room was. It had been several months since she had moved to a new bedroom, so I was starting to get used to it, but that didn't mean I liked it.

Finishing my chocolate, I jogged over to a nearby window and looked out. _It's snowing!_ I realized, seeing the soft white powder covering everything. _Elsa_ _and I loved playing in the snow!_ She'll have to play with me now. I grinned and ran over to my sister's door, calling her name and rapping out our special knock that we shared. "Do you wanna build a snowman?" There was no response, but I continued anyway. "Come on let's go play! I never see you anymore!" It was true. I occasionally saw her once in a while when she left her room to get a book or something and sometimes we'd talk for a minute, though not very long, and she joined us for meals, but other than that, it seemed like she'd left the castle. Well, to my mind, anyway. I bent down and tried to look under the door. "Elsa, please come out. It's like you've gone away!" All I could see was carpet and a pair of shoes that were facing me.

I got up off the ground and walked to the window, staring out longingly at all the snow. "Come on, El, we used to be best buddies! And now we're not for some reason. I still can't figure it out, either. Why are you hiding in there? I really wish you'd tell me why." I walked back over to Elsa's door and peeked through the keyhole. "Do you wanna build a snowman?" I asked again. Then I realized something. _Maybe she just doesn't want to do that, and would rather do something else! _"It doesn't have to be a snowman," I told Elsa, pressing my lips against the keyhole. "It can be anything else, and you can pick!" I stood there for a moment, smiling as I awaited her response. Surely she wouldn't turn down the offer now.

"Go away, Anna."

My face immediately fell as my sister's words sunk in. "Okay, bye," I replied, slowly walking away and hanging my head. I turned back a second, hoping Elsa would call me back like she had done the day she was working on her schoolwork, but there were no more words from the room. I then decided to go find Mama to see if she could go outside with me.

"What's wrong?" Mama asked when I found her.

"I wanna go outside and build a snowman, but Elsa won't come out of her room," I explained in between several sniffles.

Mama knelt down and gave me a comforting hug. "I'm sorry, Anna, but we told you Elsa can't play with you anymore."

"But it's not fair!" I cried, tears now streaming down my face. I stood there crying against Mama's shoulder for a minute. Then I dried my tears and stood up straight. "Mama, can you build a snowman with me?"

"No, Sunshine, I can't," Mama replied. "I have to help your father with something. In fact, I was on my way to do that just now."

"But who's gonna play with me then?" I asked.

Mama gave me a halfhearted smile. "Sunshine, why don't you go build a snowman by yourself? No one's stopping you from doing that."

I hung my head again. "But that's not as fun!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I'm afraid that's your only option."

"Okay," I mumbled, turning and walking away. I heard Mama sighing sadly before she went down the hallway in the opposite direction. I dressed in my winter clothes and headed outside. I wasn't sure what else to do, so I just let my feet guide me somewhere, kicking up snow as I walked.

A minute later, I glanced up to find that my feet had taken me to underneath Elsa's window. Picking up some snow and packing it into a ball, I threw it up at the glass, watching it explode into powder against the hard surface. I sighed and turned around, staring at the snow. Then I smiled as I remembered the sole purpose I had come out here. _I might as well do it,_ I thought.

After several minutes, I had one of the three sections for my snowman in place, and I was rolling out the second. I wasn't sure why, but my eyes drifted up toward my sister's window. A second later I gasped in delight and nearly started jumping up and down from excitement. Elsa was at her window, looking down at the yard below. _She's looking at me!_ my brain squealed. _Elsa's_ looking _at_ me_! And she's_ smiling _at me!_ I grinned wider than I had all day and waved at my sister, finally giving into the urge to jump around. To my great surprise and delight, Elsa waved back. Her grin was as big as mine. I also noticed a longing look on her face. Elsa's smile fell after a moment, and even though I was several feet below her, I could tell she was crying. I knew this due to the fact that her eyelashes were blinking faster than normal, and she kept wiping her eyes. I gave her a concerned look, wondering what was making her so sad. Elsa noticed and shot back another smile, though it was a bit halfhearted and I saw her sleeve brushing her eyes again.

I waved again and blew her a kiss, pretending to give her an air-hug as well. Elsa pretended to catch both and held them close to her heart before copying my actions to send them back to me. I could still see that she was conflicted about something, although she was obviously trying to hide it. Elsa shot me a nervous look and placed her hands on the window, leaning against it. A second later, the glass fogged up in a large circle, and I assumed that she had used her breath to do it, even though what was on the window looked more opaque than what was normally expected from a person breathing on it. A finger began tracing shapes on the glass, creating a drawing of Olaf. Elsa stuck her face close to the top section and began waving her arms. I giggled as I imagined her saying, "Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" just like she used to.

Then Elsa wiped the glass clean before pointing at me. I tilted my head and shrugged in confusion. My sister rolled her hands over each other, apparently miming something, but then she stopped, frowned and smacked her forehead, then pointed at the spot on the window where Olaf had been, down at the ground, and finally at me. I nodded, finally understanding what she was saying. "It's your turn to make Olaf," was what Elsa was trying to tell me.

I tilted my head again and pointed at my two snowballs, then at myself, Elsa, and then motioned around at the yard. Then I raised my hands and shrugged, giving her a questioning, pleading look. _Elsa, can you please come outside and built Olaf_ _with me? _My big sister shook her head sadly, and I saw her dry her eyes with her sleeve again. She gave me a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and pointed at herself, her eyes, me, and then my still-in-progress snowman.

I frowned, still confused as to why she wouldn't come out. She obviously wasn't mad at me, since she had seemed so happy to see me. I motioned at both of us and the snowman, sending my sister my best puppy dog eyes and sticking out my lower lip. _Pretty please come down and play with me?_ Elsa shook her head and repeated her previous motions. I sighed and nodded, turning back to my project.

I finally finished my snowman around ten minutes later, after racing into the castle to grab supplies. I glanced up at my sister, who was watching me with a smile on her face and leaning closer to get a better look at the scene below. Before I could do anything, Elsa's gaze dropped to the windowsill, her eyes widened in alarm, she visibly gasped, and then she jerked her hands away. A second later, she disappeared from view. I waited for several minutes for her to return, but the window stayed empty. "Sisters are confusing," I told Olaf. I imagined him nodding. I looked around and sighed. Playing in the snow was no fun without my sister. Slowly, I turned and trudged back inside, with nothing to look forward to besides playing with my lonesome self.

0o0o0o

A little while later, at lunchtime, I happily sat down at the table next to my family. I looked forward to meals, because that was when I got to see my sister. Papa was at the head of the table, Mama was sitting to his left, I was right next to her, and Elsa sat directly across from me. "Elsa, thank you for smiling at me at the window earlier," I said quietly several minutes later as Mama and Papa talked.

Elsa smiled and nodded, and I was sure I saw tears filling her eyes. "You're welcome, sis," she replied.

"You talked to me!" I responded, shocked. My face lit up and I bounced in my seat. "Yay!" Elsa only smiled again half-heartedly in reply. I noticed Mama and Papa watching us with smiles on their faces. "How was your day, Elsa?" I asked after a minute, deciding to play the conversation safe.

Elsa shrugged. "It was okay, I guess. I finished my schoolwork around an hour ago. But I think the highlight of my day was watching you build a snowman."

I grinned. "Thanks! But why didn't you come outside and play with me?"

Elsa immediately froze and her smiled disappeared. "I-I couldn't. I'm sorry, Anna, but I can't play anymore."

"But why?" I asked. Elsa's face twisted into a look of sadness and pain, and a moment later, she gasped and dropped her fork. "What's wrong?" I was wondering what the matter was, so I quickly reached across the table and grabbed her fork. I yelped and dropped it a second later. "Yikes!" I exclaimed. "This thing is freezing! No wonder you dropped it!" I glanced down and found what looked like patches of frost on the utensil. I heard a few gasps, a sob, and then the sound of a chair being pushed back and running feet. Glancing up, I found scared looks on everyone's faces. Everyone being just made up of my parents, that is, since Elsa had vanished. "What?" I asked innocently.

"Do you feel alright?" Papa asked.

"Do you feel different?" Mama asked.

"Are you cold?" Papa asked.

"Does your head hurt?" Mama asked, resting a head on my forehead. With the other hand, she reached over and touched my lock of white hair.

"Uh, no," I responded slowly. "I'm fine. My hand feels like an ice cube at the moment, though." It was then that I realized I did feel slightly different. I felt happy. My sister had actually _spoken_ to me, even if she had ran off. I also felt like something was missing. Just like a few months ago, my brain felt like it was trying to remember something that wasn't there. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and glanced back up at Mama's and Papa's relieved faces.

"Are you done with your lunch, Anna?" Mama asked.

"Yup!" I replied, shoving my plate away a few inches.

"Then why don't you go play?" Mama suggested. "I need to talk to your father."

"Okay!" I said, pushing back my chair and jumping down to the floor. I ran out of the ding room and toward my bedroom, where I began playing with my dolls.

0o0o0o0o

The next night, at supper, my family was once again enjoying our meal. Elsa, for some reason, had been in her room ever since the fork incident the afternoon before, and I hadn't seen her once all day. I grinned happily now when I saw her enter the dining room. "Hi, Elsa!" I greeted. She smiled and waved back tentatively, and it was then that I noticed her new accessory. "Cool gloves!" I said. "They look good on you!"

"You think so?" Elsa asked shyly.

"Of course I do!" I replied. "I wish I had a pair like those."

"No you don't," Elsa responded with a frown.

"Yes, I do."

"Trust me, you don't."

"Trust me, I do!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!"

"Don't!"

"Do!"

"Girls!" Papa scolded. Elsa and I glanced up sheepishly. Papa's face was stern but amused. So was Mama's.

"Please stop the bickering," Mama said.

"Sorry, Papa," Elsa and I apologized. Then Elsa drifted into silence and didn't speak any more for the rest of the meal.

0o0o0o0o

Three weeks later, I walked around the castle, bored. I wasn't sure what to do. Mama and Papa were busy, Elsa definitely wouldn't play with me, and the servants were too busy doing their own work. I was also banned from my room for a whole hour.

"We need to clean your room, Princess," Gerda had said. "It looks like three tornadoes went through here. Stay out for a while so I can at least see it clean for an hour without you messing it up." I had gone outside and played in the snow for a few minutes, enjoying the way the snow sparkled in the early morning light, but then I got bored and went back inside the castle.

As I passed Elsa's room, I noticed the door was open. Glancing around to make sure the hallway was empty, I quickly stepped inside the room. Elsa was gone, as I was quick to find out, so I alkyd around the room, inspecting it. It looked almost like my bedroom did, except in purple colors instead of pink, and the bed was on the opposite wall. As I passed the desk, I stopped when I noticed something. Reaching up, I snatched Elsa's gloves off the hard surface, where they had obviously been forgotten. Almost every time I saw Elsa during the past three weeks, she was wearing those gloves. The few times she wasn't, all it took was me reminding her by asking about them before she would groan, smack her forehead, and rush of to find the gloves. I still wanted a pair for myself, since they looked really pretty.

Grinning, I pulled the gloves onto my hands to try them on. They were a bit too big for my tiny hands, but I liked them anyway. I smiled mischievously as I thought of a plan. It would be the perfect prank if I could hide these from Elsa. _This is a perfect prank!_ I thought as I left the room with gloves. Now I just had to find the perfect hiding spot for them.


	5. Back to the Present 2

I frowned when I heard Kristoff laughing. "What?" I protested.

"Great prank," he replied a moment later, still laughing. "How long did it take a Elsa to find out that you took her gloves and then find them herself? What, five minutes?"

I rolled my eyes and jabbed my elbow into his side. "I'll have you know, Mr. Ice Master, that I am very good at hiding things. Elsa didn't find out that I was the one who took her gloves until I gave them back to her."

"Actually, I did," Elsa spoke up.

"No you didn't," I replied, annoyed since she was not at all helping the situation.

"Yes, I did."

"No you didn't."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Alright, you two, break it up," Kristoff scolded, hitting us both in the face with pillows. Elsa and I then turned our glares to him for interrupting the argument. "Ah!" Kristoff exclaimed, leaning away and holding up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Just please stop looking at me like that."

Elsa and I then dissolved into laughter. "Okay fine, you figured it out, sis," I surrendered. "But how'd you know it was me?"

Elsa rolled her eyes and smirked. "Because I know my baby sister well enough to figure when it's her behind a prank."

"You did give her gloves back, right?" Kristoff asked.

"Of course I did!" I responded, slightly offended. "What do you take me for, a thief? I gave them back later when I started feeling guilty about it."

"My question is why Elsa even had her gloves off in the first place," Kristoff said. "I-I mean, not that it's bad to have them off-honestly it was probably bad to have them on-but you know what I mean." He had backtracked quickly when he saw our incredulous and slightly angry faces. "I thought Elsa had them on all the time, so why'd she take them off?"

"Sis, can you answer that?" I asked, turning to Elsa.

Elsa nodded and shrugged. "At first It was hard for me to keep those gloves on. I wasn't used to them, and it was annoying because they were constricting and I couldn't feel anything through them. I'd take them off to read a book or something, since I couldn't turn the pages with them on, and then I'd accidentally forget about them. After Anna's little prank, I vowed to never take them off again, and I lived up to that as much as I could, especially when my powers got even more out of hand."

"Alright," Anna said, "Kristoff, a few minutes ago you asked if we ever build another snowman together. Well, the answer is, kind of. It happened the winter after the accident, on Christmas Day."


End file.
